Cultural Relativism

Question 1

A key concept in ethics that argues that moral values and practices are rooted in cultural contexts and can only be understood in relation to the specific cultural norms from which they arise.

Answer 1

Cultural Relativism

Question 2

A view that good and bad are relative to culture.

Answer 2

Cultural Relativism

Question 3

Different cultures have different moral codes. What is thought right within one group may horrify the other and vice versa.

Answer 3

Cultural Relativism

Question 4

Our moral principles describe social conventions and must be based on the norms of our society.

Answer 4

Cultural Relativism

Question 5

Emphasizes that no culture is superior to any other culture when comparing systems of morality, law, politics, etc., resulting in moral tolerance.

Answer 5

Cultural Relativism

Question 6

What are the five claims of cultural relativists?

Answer 6

1. Different societies have different moral codes.
2. The moral code of a society determines what is right within that society; that is, if the moral code of a society says that a certain action is right, then it is right, at least within that society.
3. There is no objective standard that can be used to judge one society’s code as better than another’s. There are no moral truths that hold for all people at all times.
4. The moral code of our own society has no special status; it is but one among many.
5. It is arrogant for us to judge other cultures. We should always be tolerant of them.

Question 7

What are the three bullets under morality as culturally dependent?

Answer 7

• Cultural relativism posits that moral judgments are culture-bound, with no universal standards applying across all cultures and times.
• Practices considered moral in one society may be seen as immoral in another, such as polygamy being accepted in some cultures but not in others.
• The theory suggests that no culture’s moral framework is superior to another, with all values being equally valid within their respective contexts

Question 8

cultural relativism encourages appreciation of diversity and avoidance of ethnocentrism

Answer 8

Fostering Tolerance

Question 9

by recognizing different moral codes across societies, individuals become more open-minded and less judgmental of other cultures.

Answer 9

Open-Mindedness

Question 10

this approach promotes understanding and respect for cultural differences, fostering a more inclusive global perspective.

Answer 10

Cultural Appreciation

Question 11

an anthropological observation that different cultures have different moral practices and beliefs, essentially a statement of fact.

Answer 11

Descriptive Cultural Relativism

Question 12

asserts that because different cultures have different moral codes, we should not judge one culture’s morality as better or worse than another’s.

Answer 12

Normative Cultural Relativism

Question 13

these dimensions influence how we perceive and interact with diverse cultural practices and beliefs in ethical discourse.

Answer 13

Implications

Question 14

e.g. female circumcision (often called genital mutilation)
- In some cultures, it is considered a rite of passage and a moral imperative, while in others it is seen as a violation of human rights and bodily autonomy.
- Cultural relativism would argue that this practice can only be morally evaluated within the cultural framework of the society in which it occurs.

Answer 14

Ritual Practices

Question 15

• some indigenous tribes link it to spiritual or survival beliefs.
• From a relativist perspective, it would be wrong to universally condemn this practice without understanding its cultural significance.

Answer 15

Cannibalism

Question 16

in many western countries, it is seen as a human right, while others consider it immoral or illegal.

Answer 16

Same-Sex Marriage

Question 17

seems to deny the possibility.
- If all cultural practices are equally valid, how do we explain changes in moral beliefs within a culture overtime?

Answer 17

Moral Progress

Question 18

What is an example under moral progress?

Answer 18

Abolition of Slavery

Question 19

cultural relativism implies that we cannot criticize the moral practices of other cultures, no matter how abhorrent they may seem to us

Answer 19

Moral Criticism

Question 20

What are the examples under moral criticism?

Answer 20

Genocide, child labor, and human rights abuses

Question 21

the idea that we cannot make moral judgments about other cultures.

Answer 21

Moral Isolationism

Question 22

Who is a prominent critic of cultural relativism that argued against moral isolationism?

Answer 22

Mary Midgley

Question 23

Tolerance is a key virtue, implicitly imposing a universal moral principle, while claiming that there are no universal moral truths.

Answer 23

Contradictions within Cultural Relativism

Question 24

recognizing both cultural diversity and fundamental universal principles.

Answer 24

Middle Ground Approach

Question 25

maintains respect for cultural differences while acknowledging the possibility of certain universal ethical standards.

Answer 25

Respect for Cultural Diversity

Question 26

while many moral values are culturally relative, certain fundamental principles, such as human dignity, might be universal.

Answer 26

Universal Human Rights

Question 27

(from Harry Gensler 2011, p 8-9) embraced cultural relativism as she has come to appreciate the deeply cultural basis for morality. The other side is not wrong, but just different.

Answer 27

Ima Relativist